Johnson County Judge: Arson charges only in Olathe fire

Jamie Oberg

11:34 AM, Apr 22, 2013

Amy Hawley/KSHB

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

OLATHE, Kan. - A Johnson County judge has ruled there is enough evidence to try an Olathe man on arson charges, but not attempted premeditated murder, according to the Johnson County District Attorney's office.

58-year-old William Outhet was arrested and accused of attempted pre-meditated murder and arson after he was pulled from his burning home by firefighters on Feb. 1. Outhet was in court for a preliminary hearing Friday, on accusations that he tried to hurt those first responders when they arrived.

Not many details were released until Friday when firefighters and police officers testified about what happened.

First responders testified they heard explosions and pops while they tried to rescue Outhet from the second floor of his home.

Olathe police officers and Olathe firefighter Eric Dawson testified about what happened as they worked to rescue Outhet from his burning home.

Dawson said when he made entry to Outhet's bedroom, he crawled on his hands and knees through thick smoke to try and rescue him.

When some smoke cleared, that firefighter said Outhet was lying in his bed with a shotgun over his chest, pistol at his side and other weapons and ammo in the home.

The court also heard a "belt recording" from one of the Olathe police officers who responded to the fire.

In that recording you can loud popping noises and the officer warning people to stand back because there had been an explosion.

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.